


Eureka Library

by blueskypenguin



Category: Eureka
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, M/M, Pre-Slash, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-18
Updated: 2012-03-18
Packaged: 2017-11-02 04:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/364749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueskypenguin/pseuds/blueskypenguin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This place had cult status with Tesla University, and the science students treated it like holy ground, but four years ago it had been big news when Nathan Stark quit research and development to open a <i>library</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eureka Library

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Marshal_Science exchange in 2009 on LJ. Was initially meant to be a two-parter, but work stalled on that so it's just a pre-slash one-shot instead.

The clock radio, tuned to a local soft jazz station, turned to six am and came alive. Nathan just reached over to turn the volume up; he'd been awake for a good half hour already. It was a new day and a new academic year and though he was prepared, it always gave him pause. It was a new start, but for some it was the final year and so the beginning of the end. He shoved the melancholy aside as he showered, dressed in jeans and a dark blue polo shirt. He skipped coffee and breakfast at home, planning to eat at the library, as usual. The walk took him the standard twenty minutes.

As he reached the front door, he fought down a smile. This morning there was no-one waiting, but after a few weeks his regulars would begin arriving before him. They never seemed to believe him when he refused to open earlier than seven am.

Not for the first time, Nathan wondered if he should hire someone else. Perhaps then they could work shifts, even open the library all night around finals or grant application time. As it was, Eureka Library opened from seven to eleven pm, and he was only breaking even with the accounts. And he was very happy with that. His library wasn’t stereotypical, as much as any library can be. 

Really, it was more like a communal workspace with a steady and cheap supply of coffee to any science student or lecturer - the coffee encouraged people to stay with the books instead of actually borrowing them. The students occasionally got hands on help from the professors and doctors hanging around, and the professors and doctors hanging around got Nathan's opinion on their research for free (but for a complimentary thanks in any resulting papers published). He charged for a mug, though most regulars brought their own, and the first cup was two dollars. Refills after that were fifty cents, and tea was cheaper. It kept the library in the red, and that’s all Nathan needed. What money he got from consulting and guest lecturing was more than enough for him alone. Perhaps he could divert some of that, maybe seduce a grad student into working part time for a small wage and free coffee...

Nathan browsed his post, flicked on the lights and began the coffee brewing. It was mostly junk, even the publishers' news and special offers. He set aside a few of the journals and magazines for the stands, and put a couple on his desk to read later. He had the books he needed for this year, even the advanced stuff. It was one of many perks of knowing the people writing the best works, or having them know him. This place had cult status with Tesla University, and the science students treated it like holy ground, but four years ago it had been big news when Nathan Stark quit research and development to open a _library_. 

"Good morning, Dr. Stark."

He didn't bother turning around. "If I've told you once, Fargo, I've told you a dozen times a day. You know you can call me Nathan."

Fargo grinned. "As soon as I get my PhD, I'll stop."

"If that's meant to be some equality thing," Nathan rolled his eyes, pouring the student some coffee, "then you also know I have four."

"Four and a half," Fargo corrected, reaching for the mug. "And you know, a couple of months and a presentation wouldn't cause another heart attack if you wanted to round that off."

He sighed. This was an old argument from Fargo, who was well meaning but had a clear ulterior motive. "I wish you'd stop trying to convince me; you can't win this one. I'm perfectly happy with my life as it is. I have my library, I have students and colleagues and I still have science.” 

Nathan didn't add what he'd been thinking more often lately: for all he had, he was lonely. Since Allison had left and taken that desk job with the NIH in DC to spend more time with Kevin in the course of their rather acrimonious separation and divorce, he had no-one. She'd come to see him in hospital just once after his heart attack four years ago, warned him to slow down, and then disappeared instead of staying to watch him do it. It hurt, but that's where they'd ended up, and while he wouldn't take all of the responsibility for that, he's take his sizable share. He'd had nothing more meaningful than a memorable third date since, five months ago now, and Evan had left to study nineteenth century literature in England soon afterward. 

Back to the matter at hand, “You can use what I’ve already done, Fargo, with permission. You may even take it further than I managed.”

“Well,” Fargo was a little flustered, adding sugar to his coffee at the counter. “That’s quite the compliment but having your research to hand is hardly the same.”

“I’m always here,” Nathan pointed out, gesturing with his own coffee mug and sitting at his desk. 

With a glance, he took in the library. It had hardly changed since he first opened it, converting one of his old privately owned lab spaces. When it became clear that the students wanted a comfortable, quiet place to work as much as a decent supply of reference material, Nathan had moved some of the less-helpful books into storage, moved the bookcases around to make more floor space and had introduced a variety of tables – some wide, some long, some big groups, some solo spaces. No matter how you wanted to work, in Eureka Library you would have the space and means. It’s why people kept returning, and whispering the word onto like-minded new students. 

As he was contemplating expanding into the storage section out back, and shelving what was there in some of the extra space created, Jackson and Helen, two of his regulars, strolled in. “Hey, Nathan,” Jackson grinned, and Nathan was struck with how much they’d grown since the first time they walked in. They’d seemed… smaller, far too young and so very eager. Jackson was tall but lean, a benefit of the tennis he played on the side, and his dark brown hair was exactly the same mahogany colour as his eyes. His dimples, he had been informed by a zealous fan one day, were ‘lickable’. Nathan couldn’t bring himself to look at any of the students here in that manner, no matter how objectively. Jackson was a big hit with the girls who came into library, and a couple of the guys, but he only had eyes for Helen and everyone could see it. Helen, with short red hair in a pixie cut and wide green eyes was sweet, kind and pretty. 

Nathan had never seen them apart. They met in a compulsory biology module on the first day, hated it and banded together. In the first week, they’d heard about Eureka from their ‘parents’ and hadn’t looked back since. It had been a tough six or seven weeks for everyone before Helen finally realised that, yes, he was actually looking at her _like that_ … Nathan wasn’t ashamed to say that Jackson and Helen were among his favourites. They were pretty perfect together.

“Helen, Jackson, this is a little early even for you two,” he tried to push away the sadness growing in his heart. Although he’d guest lectured at the university for years, he’d never bonded with the students; a few hours here and there hadn’t created the time or the opportunity. Jackson and Helen’s year would be the first he’d seen pass through the library doors from their first year through to graduation. “Getting a head start on your final year?”

Helen rolled her eyes and nudged Jackson with her elbow. “The boy here wanted your opinion on something before we get to the labs. Hey, Fargo.” 

“Hi,” Fargo waved from the coffee counter, ducking his head a little bashfully. He was never particularly comfortable with female attention.

Nathan sat back in his chair, a beautiful and exceptionally comfortable black leather, high-backed computer chair that no-one dared touch. “Oh? Do tell.”

“I’m tutoring three advanced physics students from the private school, and they’re getting bored,” Jackson stuffed his hands into his pockets, suddenly sheepish. “I thought I might bring them along in a couple of days, give them sometime interesting to look at?”

“Advanced high-school students getting bored?” Nathan shrugged. “That’s pretty standard. Why these ones?” Had it been anyone else asking, he would have dismissed the kids out of hand, but Jackson was patient and talented. He’d run out of things to teach them?

“The only reason they haven’t graduated already is because Darwin Academy is very good but very stubborn. Frankly, I can’t give them as much time this year, what with my own projects. Lucas is a genius with an IQ higher than mine, and Zoe’s dangerous when bored.”

“You said three,” prompted Fargo. 

Jackson waved a hand dismissively, “Pilar is a sweetheart. She relishes a challenge and keeps the other two focussed.”

Nathan frowned. “And they’re good?”

“The best,” Helen chimed in. “They’ll be graduating in a couple of years, and they’re shoe-ins for Tesla. Lucas and Zoe will probably go into physics; Pilar will probably favour chemistry. Lucas and Pilar’s parents are Tesla graduates.”

Fargo interrupted, “Wait, what about the dangerous one’s parents – Zoe?” Nathan rolled his eyes. Fargo always had to be involved, and was a little worrier to boot.

Helen shrugged, a sympathy knitting her brow. “She doesn’t talk about them much, just that they’re separated and she lives with her dad. I think her mum’s a psychiatrist, though. We don’t get a lot of gossiping done, you know.”

Weighing it up, Nathan sighed. “Okay, bring them along. I trust your judgement.” He had the distinct feeling he may live to regret the faith he had in their judgement, but if these kids were the next generation, he’d like the chance to steer them right. What better place than here to determine if the world of research and academia is for you, where students of exceptional ability and some of the leading scientists in every scientific field mingled?

\--

Nathan decided they were too good to be true. Zoe was of middling height, blonde, exceptionally cute and seemed to be following a conversation between Helen and Fargo with no problems. Pilar was quiet, respectful and powering through some ring chemistry mechanisms like they were absent-minded doodles. And Lucas, who appeared to be all hair and no common sense, was just that but was talking to Jackson about quantum theory and probably advancing Jackson’s understanding instead of the other way around.

There had to be something wrong with them. “Jackson, Helen, Fargo,” he greeted as he made his presence known. Coming in the back door had it’s uses. As he moved into the room, he swept the library quickly with his eyes and spotted a few other students working away. All familiar faces, so in the two days since term had started, word had yet to spread. Either that, or the newbies were intimidated – not unheard of. At least Fargo hadn’t burned the place down in the two hours he’d been left in charge. “You three must be the students Jackson and Helen were raving about the other day.”

Lucas looked terrified, Pilar set her pen down and smiled politely, and Zoe rolled her eyes at them both. “I’m Zoe. Thanks for letting us be here.”

“These two vouched for you,” Nathan shrugged. “Don’t make me regret it.”

And an hour later, he was fairly certain he wouldn’t. Pilar was quiet but exceptional, and a hard worker to boot. Once he calmed down, Lucas was an alright kid with some stellar ideas and Zoe… Nathan could see just how dangerous Zoe could be. She was bright, quick and seemed to be able to read people well, but she had a wicked streak ocean-wide. She seemed to adore Lucas as much as she enjoyed snarking at him, and she had a very solid, easy friendship with Pilar. Zoe was a charmer, and Nathan found himself charmed. Zoe Carter could do great evil, he realised.

“So,” Zoe turned to him as they were packing up to leave – high school students had curfews no matter how exceptional they were, “do we meet with your approval? Can we come back?”

Nathan smothered a grin. “I suppose you can be trusted with my books and coffee,” he said. 

“Great,” she actually bounced a little with a grateful smile, “because Fargo mentioned that you used to work on AI systems and I’d love to pick your brains.”

“Zoe, if we’re not out of here in ten minutes, your dad’ll kill me,” Lucas walked up behind her and appeared to shudder at the thought of Zoe’s father’s wrath. Nathan was amused, but wondered if Lucas could really be so scared of one man, even if he did happen to be the girlfriend’s dad.

She rolled her eyes. “Please, just because he still carries a gun doesn’t mean he’d use it.” 

“Just because he has a desk job, doesn’t mean he still couldn’t hunt me down if he wanted,” he countered, taking Zoe’s hand. 

Nathan’s interest was officially piqued. “Your dad’s a police officer?”

“Oh no,” she shook her head and replied with some pride, “He’s a US Marshal. He took a position training new recruits a couple of years ago after this big _thing_ -”

Pilar laughed. “Zoe, that _thing_ was you running away and trying to cross the border into Mexico.”

“Yeah, but-“

“And then you got lost, ended up crashing and camping somewhere in the middle of Oregon, and had a massive fight.”

“Which ended,” Zoe said sternly, ignoring the reactions of their audience, and turning to face her boyfriend and best friend, “with him agreeing to take a static job and let me move in with him instead of mom, if I agreed to go to Darwin and have a couple of counselling sessions. It was a good compromise. I met you two, didn’t I?”

Jackson and Helen were looking rather shocked by the whole thing. Lucas and Pilar seemed very familiar with the story, and Nathan wondered if they’d purposefully kept it from Jackson and Helen, or if they really didn’t gossip as much when working. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised that Zoe was a former delinquent; “dangerous when bored” didn’t quite cover it. He wondered just how much of a handful she’d been for her Marshal father before they reached a compromise. “How long did it take him to track you down?”

“Only three days,” she boasted, clearly not upset that her plans had been scuppered by her very successful father, though Nathan could imagine how pissed off she would have been at the time. He couldn’t picture her father, but if he gave as good as Zoe could, they must have been quite the spectacle on the Oregon roadside.

“And I’m not half as imaginative as you,” Lucas frowned.

Zoe rolled her eyes, following Pilar out the door and dragging her boyfriend behind her. “C’mon, chia pet, I’ll protect you. Bye, Nathan.”

Nathan, Jackson, Helen and Fargo watched them leave. A few minutes of silence passed in their wake.

“I like her,” Fargo grinned.

Jackson shook his head. “You just like her because she wants to help you with your AI smart house.”

“She has a name, you know,” he complained.

“Fargo, she doesn’t even exist yet,” Nathan joined in. “And I happen to like her too, so hands to yourself and no Buffy talk. Don’t think I didn’t see how your eyes lit up. You picked well, Jackson.” Eventually, Jackson and Helen drifted off home themselves, and the few finalists working left. Even Fargo was forced to leave when Nathan closed and locked up, making him wonder if Fargo ever did any work on his doctorate.

That night, Nathan dreamed of living in Fargo’s smart house and Zoe was there, speaking Spanish.

\--

It was a cool October evening, and he’d just finished explaining the layout to a new, young geologist when Zoe waltzed in, picked up his empty mug as she passed him and headed straight for the counter. He ducked his head to hide his grin, excused himself and caught up with Zoe. “I’ve known you a week and already you’re taking liberties.”

“Watch yourself, in a month I could be sitting in your chair,” she teased, handing him his coffee. He took a sip; it was perfect. “What do you even do all day around here?”

“I read the new journals, I proof-read various things, and I consult on a few projects,” Nathan shrugged. “I have the respect of my colleagues, I can teach.” He walked the few feet to the nearest two-seat table and sat down; Zoe followed.

“And that’s enough for you?” She asked, dubiously, slouching in the chair. “You’re here seven to eleven, you only ever step out for lunch or lectures. You don’t have a girlfriend or wife, you just have us.”

“You’re right, I don’t have a partner,” there was no emphasis on the word, but Zoe raised an eyebrow, nodded, and made no comment, “And yeah, I do just have you kids, but it’s enough. I get to guide young minds, and see people I come to care about flourish. And if I can look back when they’re successful, happy, brilliant people and know that I helped make that possible, that’s all the difference I need to make to the world.”

She flexed her hand on the mug, the only sign of discomfort Nathan could see. “You don’t miss it, then? Being on the frontier, pushing the boundaries yourself and discovering new things?”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that sometimes, I do. I have so many ideas and there are so many things we just don’t understand, that we don’t know,” he sighed, “But striving for it all almost killed me, and I realised… it wasn’t worth not being there to see it. I do what I can, and I love it.”

“Sometimes,” Zoe’s voice was unexpectedly hoarse. She coughed, and began again. “Sometimes I hate that I took my dad away from a job he loved, that he was really good at. He did it to protect me, to protect everyone. And because I wanted his attention, I made a nuisance of myself until he had to stop.”

“Zoe-“

She cut him off with an apologetic look. “But I’m happier now, and he’s happy. Sometimes what you give up isn’t as important as what you gain. I know he misses it, just like you do, but I bet neither of you would trade what you have now to go back?”

“Never,” Nathan knew it was rhetorical, but they’d unexpectedly shared a moment. He had a feeling she was looking for the same reassurance from her father, and while he was in no position to give that, he could give his own. She gave him a strong smile. After a few moments of companionable silence, he began to wonder about Zoe as a rebellious teen. “So just how much of a nuisance were you?”

“My aborted trip to Mexico wasn’t the first time I’d ran away,” she admitted. She was still smiling, but there was more wry than before. It spoke of embarrassment, perhaps even shame. “It was the furthest I’d gotten, and I was pretty determined. No mucking about, I headed straight for the border. If I got across, he’d have no jurisdiction to take me back,” she gave a small sigh of a laugh. 

“I was about fifty miles away when he pulled over the bus, dragged me off and stuck me in the back of his car. God knows how we ended up in the middle of Oregon, but we were both so angry… I couldn’t stop running my mouth off, I got worse and worse and said some things I will never be able to take back or forgive myself for. Then he started shouting back.”

She took a large gulp of coffee. “We didn’t know where we were, we swerved off the road. Dad was so pissed we ended up just stuck there, all night. By morning, we had a compromise and a local found us and gave us directions to the highway. He kept his end, and I kept mine and…” Zoe tailed off with a shrug, and Nathan had a feeling she wasn’t going to say any more on the matter. They drank in silence until Zoe took a glance at her watch and said she ought to get home.

\--

Time rolled on into early November, and Nathan would see Zoe, with or without Lucas or Pilar, four times a week, sometimes even on weekends. The other two he saw less, but when they were around the three of them worked. When it was just Zoe, she and Nathan had a tendency to talk crap as much as they talked science. But Jackson had underestimated Zoe – it didn’t take Pilar to get the blonde focussed and working.

It was a Tuesday night, and Zoe had appeared around six without Lucas and Pilar, and set about doing some work, solo. It wasn’t terribly unusual so Nathan just left her to it, even when it was getting a little late; Lucas normally dragged her out of the door around nine, and when that came and went, Nathan supposed that either Lucas was overly cautious, or Zoe had a later curfew.

After sorting out a few inventory problems, Nathan settled at his desk. Only Zoe and a few second years, Liam, Dean and Jenny, were left. It was only a little after ten, and they were all good students. He settled in to wait for them to leave with a coffee and the latest paper Henry and Kim, two of his own mentors, were due to publish. He was just getting to the particularly outstanding methods of data retrieval from organic computer cells when someone cleared their throat.

“Hi, could you tell me where Zoe is, please?”

As Nathan stood, he took in the tall, trim man with sandy hair and narrow hips. He had to give the man credit because his anger and worry were tightly restrained - enough to say ‘please’, at least – but the tension was clearly visible in his body.

Nathan was certain that this man was Marshal Carter – and equally certain that Zoe was past curfew. He wasn’t quite what Nathan had expected, though he couldn’t be sure what it was he expected now he was faced with the real thing – a old drill sergeant perhaps. Despite the anger and concern, Carter looked young, ready to smile. “I’ll show you,” Nathan offered. “You must be her father?”

At the confirmation that Zoe was in the library, Carter relaxed, though he still seemed just a little pissed. Zoe had definitely missed curfew. They managed to shake hands. “Jack Carter. And you must be Nathan.”

“It’s good to meet you,” Nathan said honestly. “If I’d realised Zoe had a curfew, I’d have chased her out of here. Lucas is usually the one to do it.”

He saw Jack smile out of the corner the of his eyes. “He’s a good kid, just don’t let Zoe know I said so. Fear of your girlfriend’s father is healthy.” They shared a conspiratorial grin as they rounded the corner, and Nathan found his breath catching in his throat at the sight of it. 

Luckily, their movement had caught Zoe’s eye, sat at the table with books and papers not only on the desk but littering the floor. Her hair was tied back, but some clearly frantic hair pulling had loosened some of it and she had a wild-eyed, feral look. Until, of course, she spotted her dad.

It was hilarious. She looked from her dad to her watch three times, imitating a goldfish and then, “Oh, crap.”

Jack clearly couldn’t help himself and chuckled. “Hey, Zo. You busy?”

“Dad, I am so sorry! I completely lost track of time.” She was biting her lip and looked so young for a moment that Nathan was sure that Jack was seeing his little girl, not a wayward teen. He watched as Jack visibly relaxed completely, and he knew Zoe was forgiven.

“No worries, Zo. What are you working on?”

Zoe blushed, and glanced quickly at Nathan. “I’m presenting a literature review for extra credit in my advanced physics class on artificial intelligence research,” her eyes finally met Nathan’s steadily. “It was meant to be a surprise. I’ve only got three more days to finish it.”

“I can’t wait to read it,” Nathan grinned. He could feel Jack looking inquisitively at him; turning, he explained. “AIs were my research until a few years ago.” He wasn’t sure how much Zoe had told her father of what she knew about Nathan and how he came to run a specialist science library, but he wasn’t going to get into it when he had to close up in less than an hour. It had been a long day, and Nathan was wary of spending more time with Jack, a man he’d only just met yet had rendered him speechless with a smile. 

Zoe held his gaze a few moments longer, until she cleared her throat pointedly. Nathan was confident she had just reprimanded him for …something, he wasn’t quite sure what. Jack was oblivious, or appearing to be, and before the moment could become too awkward, Zoe declared she would just clear up her mess. She looked daunted.

Jack protested. “There’s no hurry.”

Confused, but supposing Zoe’s work came before his discomfort at alone time with a stranger he’d been told a good deal about, Nathan agreed. “We’ll go have some coffee, you just find a natural place to stop or it’ll take you forever to get back into it tomorrow.”

She sighed, relieved. “Thanks, Nathan.”

“No problem,” he smiled, and gestured for Jack to follow him back to the main area. 

Now out of earshot of Zoe, with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands, Jack spoke candidly once more. “She really loves it here. I’ve never known her to take such an interest in her school work.”

“I’ll admit, I was wary of letting a trio of high school students in here, but their tutor is a pretty good judge of character. I’m just glad he was right,” Nathan conceded. “They’re really good kids.”

Jack shook his head. “I’ll never get tired of hearing people say that about Zoe.” Nathan wasn’t sure just how much he should let on he knew about Zoe’s delinquent past, so he kept quiet. “So, you used to work with artificial intelligence?”

“Until four years ago, yeah,” he said.

“Zoe told me about… how you came to start up the library,” Jack was looking at him gravely, taking a sip of coffee.

“After the heart attack I decided it wasn’t worth my life to keep pushing myself,” Nathan shrugged. It wasn’t so terrible to talk about, really. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already told Zoe, even less in fact, he assured himself. “I passed over most of my research, closed down what I couldn’t pass over and I started up Eureka.”

“And it’s usually just for the college students?”

“Usually, and of course the teaching staff. I do guest lectures myself, and they come in here and socialise with the students, hold revision surgeries and such. Some of them more than others,” Nathan added, because there were a few bastards in every office, and the field of scientific research could attract the most brilliant, most despicable people. “I don’t advertise, and I know all of the staff. Word manages to quietly reach the students. We get the occasional visitor – other guest lecturers, friends of staff and such – but we always keep a closer eye on them when they’re around.”

The marshal nodded, swallowing a large mouthful of coffee. Nathan wondered if law enforcement were taught to hoard caffeine into their system like that, or if it was just Jack trying to get some sort of fix. Really, it was a waste of good coffee to go from cup to bloodstream so swiftly. “Well, again, thanks for letting Zoe study here. And speaking of…” He was looking over Nathan’s shoulder, and he waited for Zoe to appear at his shoulder.

“Hey dad, Nathan. I’m ready,” she said, looking thoughtful. She’d tidied up her hair, and she was looking a little more put-together and a little less feral cave-girl.

Jack caught Nathan’s eye, setting his mostly-drunk coffee aside. It was definitely a skill, consuming coffee as quickly as that, Nathan decided. “It was good to meet you, Nathan.”

“You too, Jack.”

Zoe gave him a little wave, and as Nathan watched them leave, her voice drifted back to him. “So, am I grounded for missing curfew, or can I come back tomorrow?”

Nathan didn’t hear Jack’s answer.

That night, he slipped into uneasy dreams about Spanish-speaking, hostage-taking smart houses called Buffy to the mantra of ‘ _it was just a smile_ ’.

\--

She appeared around six again the next day. Nathan was on the phone, attempting to get a hold of Henry in the hope of steering Jackson his way for some graduate research, but he covered the receiver as she passed. “What’s your curfew?”

Grinning, she shrugged. “My dad’s coming to pick me up at ten-thirty. I’ll catch you up later.”

With thesis deadlines approaching for the finalists, the library was getting a little busier every day, and Zoe disappeared behind a bookshelf out of sight. Nathan assumed she was heading for the secluded desk she’d occupied yesterday. 

“Nathan, what can I do for you?” Henry sounded pleased, but not surprised to hear from him. He was lucky enough to be in regular contact with his old mentors – the Doctors Deacon as they became known – and their friendship was something that had survived a heart attack and exodus from the research world. His friendship with Allison… 

He veered away from the thought, and Jack’s face appeared at the forefront of his mind. He ignored it. “Hi, Henry, how are you? How’s Kim?”

“We’re both great, Nathan. What did you think of our latest?”

“Revolutionary,” Nathan grinned, “As ever. Listen, I have a finalist here looking for some graduate experience and I was wondering if you had anything coming up after next July that he could join you on.”

“What’s his degree?”

“Biochemistry, and he’s set for a top grade with honours. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think he was worth it,” Nathan added, although he knew he didn’t need to. Henry and Kim were the best, and he wouldn’t risk his own standing with them on a wildcard.

He could hear Henry chuckle down the line. “You get him to email me a statement, his resume and some of his work and I’ll take a look. So, how are you, Nathan?”

“Thanks, Henry. I’m… ticking over,” he shrugged, swivelling in his chair to scope out what he could see of the library – a dozen or so students straight off the bat, not including the ones roaming the aisles and sitting at secluded desks. “Those high school kids I told you about? One of them is writing up a mini-thesis on AIs for her advanced physics class. I’m really looking forward to reading it.”

“Is she sucking up or is she genuinely interested?”

Nathan felt a little affronted at the suggestion, but answered Henry nonetheless. “Oh, she’s genuine. I think she’s heading for biophysics and I’m going to keep her as far away from Fargo as possible. I think Zoe’s going to be brilliant if she sticks with advanced robotics.”

“You should show her some of your work,” Henry suggested. “It’ll give her direction, if not give her a springboard off which to base her own research. You know how close you were to-“

“Yes, Henry,” he said, terse. 

His mentor was suitably contrite. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t like talking about it. But if she’s going to have any guidance, she ought to have the best while she’s there.”

He almost blushed. Henry wasn’t stingy with his praise when you did something well, but it was always nice to hear that he still had his mentor’s approval. 

“So you haven’t heard from Allison lately?” Henry asked.

“Ah, no,” Nathan picked up a biro and began fiddling with it; a nervous habit he recognised but didn’t bother to put a stop to. “I haven’t seen or heard from her since I signed the papers.” Papers she’d sent once he was out of hospital, after she’d been to see him for the last time. It stung, as ever, but things were beyond broken before then… At least she’d made sure he was out of the woods before twisting the knife.

Henry’s voice was a little sly, and a little sad. “And there’s no-one else?”

Again, Jack’s little grin came to mind even as Nathan said slowly, “No.” While he and Henry chatted back and forth about research and gossip, Nathan couldn’t quite get his mind away from Jack. That one moment yesterday had led to a terrible night’s sleep, and when he remembered that Jack would be picking up Zoe at half ten, Nathan began to dread the clock ticking forwards. 

“Oh, I’ll be lecturing at Tesla in a couple of weeks time, just before term ends, so I’ll be seeing you,” Henry said rather ominously before he put down the phone. Nathan just hoped he wasn’t some sort of nervous wreck by then.

Surely one man, one smile even, couldn’t be twisting him up so much? It had been a long time since Nathan’s last date, and he wasn’t socially inept, but he wasn’t so unaccustomed to attraction already, was he? It wasn’t like anything was likely to come of it.

And that was what Nathan took solace in as ten thirty approached slowly: nothing would come of it, so he needn’t be made vulnerable by this gorgeous man with a cheeky smile.

When Jack appeared in the doorway at ten twenty, it was with a wide grin and Nathan felt a sinking sensation of doom.

\--

The Wednesday of the following week, Nathan was certain Zoe was conspiring against him. She was having Jack turn up earlier and earlier, but they were leaving later and later. Zoe was forcing Nathan and Jack to sit and drink coffee and talk until she was ready.

This happened with or without her two backing singers. Unlike before, even if Lucas and Pilar were present, Jack arrived and ferried them home.

He was still riding the high of Zoe’s epic thesis on artificial intelligence and the emotional algorithms, and couldn’t find it in himself to be angry or even irritated with her.

But he was damn well worried for himself.

Clearly, Nathan had been rumbled.

\--

“It was a compromise. I’m getting very good at those nowadays. She could stay out past curfew, provided it was here she was staying, and I would pick her up, even on the days she’s here with Hairboy and Pilar.”

“Late nights in a library, it’s not the done thing nowadays.”

“You make us sound so old. She loves it here, I got no complaints.”

\--

“So it was good?”

“It was beyond good. I wouldn’t have expected something like that out of some of the finalists around here. I think Fargo could learn something from reading it.”

“Fargo?”

“Oh, a PhD student. I’ll point him out some time. He’s trying to implement AI into smart houses, which is …promising. He’s good, he’s just a little accident prone. I’m pretty sure he’s never met a button he didn’t push.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. He’s not getting anywhere near Zoe or her thesis. Ever.”

“Thanks.”

\--

“I don’t even know how we ended up in Oregon. I think I just stopped paying attention to the roadsigns. I was concentrating on trying to ignore the harpy in the back seat.”

“She said she almost made it across the border.”

“I can’t imagine my life if she had. Unfortunately, I’e seen enough that I don’t even have to imagine hers.”

\--

“She came, made sure I was going to live and left. I got the divorce papers a few weeks later.”

“Have you seen her since?”

“No, though I can’t imagine we’d have much left to talk about. Kevin won’t even remember me, either, so that’s no reason to keep contact.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. If we’d worked things out, I probably wouldn’t have Eureka. Allie would have tried to convince me to have it both ways – stay in the game and just make more time, but it wouldn’t have worked. I can’t compartmentalise my life well enough and things tend to bleed over. She thought everything could have a compromise.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Yeah.”

\--

“…a Barbie bag, her winter coat over her dungarees and the cutest little scowl on her face at the end of the drive. I think she thought it would be like the school bus, and would just come for her and take her to wherever the hell it was she was headed for. I don’t even remember now. Every time she got a little further.”

\--

“Henry took me under his wing, practically my first day of college. He was – well, is – like a father to me. He’ll be here next week, actually, on the fourth. He’s lecturing at Tesla, and I’m trying to get Jackson a place with him for some graduate research.”

\--

“Jo is the bad cop to my good cop for the recruits. She’s an ex-Marine or something, she doesn’t like to talk about it, but she is scary as hell. I swear she has notches in her bedposts for every recruit she’s made quit without even laying a finger on them.”

\--

At first, Nathan had felt cornered and a little obliged to talk to Jack until Zoe was ready to leave. Eventually he still felt a little cornered, but talking with Jack was no obligation. It was usually the highlight of his day, three or four times a week.

Sometimes they talked about important things: their friends, their ex-wives, their jobs (both past and present), Zoe. Sometimes the conversation wasn’t so serious: comic book superheroes, movies, current affairs and if Lucas’ hair was growing in as well as out, into the common sense centre of his brain.

November became December, and it was nearly a month since they’d met. Zoe was still masterminding the extended periods together, although he suspected that she didn’t need to. She hadn’t said anything about her evil genius and whenever she spoke to Nathan is was just as it had been pre-Jack. 

Meanwhile, he and Jack were finding their own comfortable space with each other. It involved quite the encroachment on Nathan’s personal space, but it wasn’t unwelcome. _It didn’t mean anything_ , was what Nathan kept repeating to himself whenever the discomfort set in. Jack wasn’t demanding anything, and they weren’t even in a relationship anyway, and really, Jack probably knew enough about Nathan to wreck his life as it was so it was all moot anyway…

It wasn’t just a smile any more.

Of course, Henry and Kim were due to arrive that night, and since Zoe had waltzed in and set herself down near Nathan’s desk, Jack would be around when they arrived. He suspected his mentors would take one look at him and Jack and his number would be up. They’d know. Nathan wasn’t sure exactly what it was that they would know, because he couldn’t quite grasp what this _thing_ was in the first place. He felt something around Jack, something he’d long forgotten, given up on or ... _something_. He scowled. Henry and Kim would know.

Jack showed up a little before ten, when Nathan had all but given up on reading and had lured Zoe’s attention with tales of his time at college, and coffee. Coffee that magically disappeared as soon as Nathan saw Jack enter through the front door. He wasn’t above keeping the evil genius on his good side, especially if he felt… _something_ for her father.

“Hey guys,” Jack slouched down into a chair opposite Zoe, by Nathan’s side. It was a slouch Nathan was used to seeing not just on Jack but on his daughter too. “Given up on work?”

“Just a bit,” Zoe said sheepishly. “Nathan was telling me about when he was at college, since his old professors are coming by.”

Jack frowned. “Is that today?” He turned his head and Nathan found their faces to be inches apart.

He nodded, slightly, “Henry and Kim should be here around half-past.”

“Right,” Jack exhaled sharply, looking between him and Zoe. “So, any good stories I should hear?”

“Oh, all tales of heroism and chivalry, I assure you,” Nathan grinned. “Coffee?”

The marshal nodded, practically beaming. “Yeah, thanks.”

Zoe cleared her throat. “Can I-“ 

“No,” Jack cut her off quickly.

\--

“So have you decided whether you’re going to take someone on to work shifts?” Jack asked. He and Nathan pointedly ignored the way Zoe perked up from the journal she was reading. The words ‘no’, ‘way’ and ‘hell’ came to mind.

Nathan shrugged. “I think I’ll just make sure there’s someone around here I trust if I want to step out, and just pay someone baby-sitting fees if I need time off. I’ve got Jess covering tomorrow night – I’m taking Kim and Henry out to dinner.” He glanced to the front door and caught the two doctors trying to sneak in. “Speaking of the devil.”

The three at the table turned to face the newcomers, who quickly made their way over to the table. Nathan stood and walked around the desk to pull Henry into a hug. “Good to see you,” he said when they stepped apart. “Kim!” He swept her into a hug also as Henry stepped around to introduce himself to Jack.

“Henry Deacon,” Henry smiled, as he shook Jack’s hand, “and this is my wife, Kim.”

“Jack Carter, nice to meet you. This is my daughter Zoe.”

Henry nodded, “Zoe, Nathan speaks very highly of you.”

“Doctors Deacon, it’s an honour,” Zoe said, blushing and visibly startling Jack and making Nathan grin.

“Sorry we’re a little late,” Henry and Kim settled on Zoe’s side of the table as they all sat down. “So, Nathan, how have you been?” Kim asked, her eyes fleeting to Jack. 

Nathan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Things are going well,” he said. “How’s work at NASA?”

“Busy. Rewarding,” Henry admitted. 

Kim smiled. “We were hoping to meet with Jackson Parry; we were quite impressed by what he sent us.”

“I’ll tell him. You could probably catch up with him after you lecture his biotechnology module,” said Nathan. 

Jack braced his hands on the desk. “Sorry to cut and run, but I ought to be getting Zoe home.”

Zoe looked for a moment like she may protest, but glanced at her watch and conceded, “It’s a school night.” She gathered her things. “It really was great to meet you, Nathan has nothing but good things to say. Even about that time with the ROTC guy and his helicopter.”

“Zoe!” Nathan groaned, and tried not to look at Jack who was looking very curious. Henry and Kim were chuckling as they expressed their goodbyes.

“Come on, Dad, I’ll tell you later.”

“Oh, you will not,” Nathan warned. He watched them leave, Jack throwing a wave and some pleasanties of his own.

Henry had his arms crossed as was staring at him fairly intently when he looked back. Kim had a devilish smirk, and Henry clearly deferred to her as she said, “You never mentioned her father.” Nathan just rolled his eyes. “We’re happy for you, really.”

“It’s nothing,” he said finally.

“You have to see the way he looks at you,” Kim pushed.

And Nathan felt rather stupid.

\--

Henry and Kim were set up in his guest room, and Nathan slipped into his own bed and let himself think about just how blind he’d been. Zoe wasn’t masterminding anything. She probably knew more of what was going on than Nathan himself, but she wasn’t making Jack come for her earlier and earlier, leaving later and later. Okay, so maybe she was putting off leaving on purpose, but Jack had no problem hurrying her if needed, and he could always start arriving later.

Jack was actively seeking out time with him, Nathan realised. 

He replayed all the smiles Jack had given him, the small sarcastic ones, the beaming ones, the rueful ones. They’d come to know each other rather well over the last month – Nathan knew when Jack walked through the door with one look whether coffee was just a drink or a substitute for the beer Jack couldn’t get his hands on until he was done for the day. Nathan knew with a look whether Jack had taken a beating in training (a few times in the last month) or if he’d been stuck behind his desk all day (only once, and Nathan almost reached for the whiskey he kept in the back of the bottom drawer of his desk). Nathan could tell what an angry Jack looked like, knew his expressions when he was frustrated, weary, proud and amused.

He hadn’t talked about any same-sex past relationships among all of their random but revealing conversations, but Nathan knew attraction when he saw it – or when someone woke him up to it.

Jack was interested in _him_. And Nathan was certainly interested in that.


End file.
